Brownback hosts inaugural pheasant hunt in western Kansas

OAKLEY – Gov. Sam Brownback and 68 fellow hunters enjoyed one of his favorite campaign promises Saturday at the first Ringneck Classic pheasant hunt at Oakley.

“What I’m after is to get more publicity to northwest Kansas and attract more hunters from across the nation,” Brownback said minutes before stepping into a field with other hunters.

He had mentioned a possible special pheasant hunt to help the western Kansas economy several times while campaigning. The formal announcement was made at a January press conference in Wichita.

“You come up with a lot of things while campaigning to see what happens,” he said. “Some never get any attention, but this one generated some interest, which was good.”

Several fundraising events were held at the hunt to raise money for local charities, conservation groups and college scholarships.

This is Kansas’ second such annual hunt. The Governor’s Turkey Hunt in El Dorado will see its 26th event in April. Along with publicity for the area, that hunt has raised about $400,000 for college scholarships.

Brownback said he got the idea for a governor’s invitational pheasant hunt while in the U.S. Senate when South Dakota politicians bragged how much pheasant hunters add to their economy.

State officials in South Dakota estimate the long-tailed birds add about $230 million to their economy.

Brownback has frequently insisted Kansas’ birds are “bigger, faster, prettier and better tasting” than those in another state.

Jim Millensifer, an Oakley businessman, said northwest Kansas has plenty to offer visiting hunters. “You don’t have to pay $1,000 or $1,200 for a three-day guided hunt. We have a lot of land they can hunt for free, and the bird hunting here is about as good as it gets. When people find out about it, they will come. Once those people come, they’re staying in our motels, eating in our restaurants and buying our gas.”

Oakley will hold the event again next year, then it will be rotated annually among several western Kansas towns.

“This is really meant to be a regional event,” Brownback said. “We want to spread things around.”

Brownback said the hunt ties in with several programs meant to help the 50 Kansas counties with declining populations. One includes paying student loans for college graduates moving to those counties. Another program exempts new residents coming from other states from paying state income taxes for five years in about 40 rural counties.

Hunters invited this year included several country singers, members of the media, outdoors-based television shows and famed athletes Tom Watson and George Brett.

Corporate sponsors who gave $6,000 to the hunt were allowed to bring a team of four hunters.

Watson’s generosity helped the event to a good start.

At the Friday night dinner, he donated a signed and framed print of himself making a crucial shot when he won a U.S. Open championship. A trained auctioneer, Brownback got $7,000 for the print. A bat broken by Brett in a game and autographed sold for $4,000.

On Saturday, Brownback made the rounds, trying to hunt an hour or so with as many groups as possible even after he filled his four-bird limit by 11 a.m. He was using a rusted, beat-up pump-action 12-gauge that once belonged to his grandfather.

After lunch that meant he was largely along for the exercise and a possible quail when he joined one of his favored groups – four Fort Riley soldiers recently returning from Iraq.

The group was hosted by a local corporate sponsor.

“I figured, why take a team of guys who can do this anytime they want?” said Tom Willis of Conestoga Energy. “Instead, we got the four soldiers from Fort Riley as a way of thanking the military for what they do.”

They ended the day with eight pheasants.

To the soldiers, the hunting was almost secondary to how they’d been treated at Friday’s dinner.

When Brownback introduced them, they got a long standing ovation from the crowd of several hundred people.

“It was a very humbling experience,” said Joshua Willis, a soldier and Tom Willis’ son. “It really helps us to know people back home are supportive. It always makes a difficult job just that much easier.”